Fun with cards
by Fussy Indecisive Pixie
Summary: Itachi desperately needs to get away from his everyday life and he tags along with Sasuke to hang out with Sakura and Ino. Naturally, Sasuke's biggest fear is his friends will like Itachi more than him and that imminently turns a simple card game into a competition. Humour/romance
1. Honest mistakes

**_Honest mistakes_**

''Sasuke-kun!''

Sasuke turned around to see his former team-mate running towards him.

''Are you busy tonight?'' Sakura asked, not even trying to hide her enthusiasm.

''Maybe.''

His response wasn't a lie, it was a precaution. He couldn't risk to get involved into something boring and long-lasting, especially not with people he could barely stand, in case he agreed to a party of some kind, and all of it only because he was honest!

''Why do you want to know?'' he asked to find out more details.

''You see, Ino and I have a proposal for you!'' Sakura said, smiling for no obvious reason.

''Ino and you?'' Sasuke repeated, a bit doubtful what kind of proposal two mortal enemies have when it would come to spending the night with him.

''Yes! You see, we recently rented a flat together and-''

''Too much talking, Sakura!'' impatient female voice interrupted Sakura in explaining something about real-estate.

Sasuke couldn't concentrate, thinking about an excuse to decline whatever they had in mind. He wasn't in the mood to watch pathetic attempts to seduce him while he could use his time doing something useful, like training. Because more training meant more skills and getting closer to Naruto and, of course, his brother.

''Sasuke-kun,'' Ino interrupted his train of thoughts, ''here is the set of rules for a card game we want you to play with us.''

Saying that, blonde handed him over a piece of paper and he observed it for a moment. It really looked like a card game.

''If you have nothing better to do, stop by after dinner time!''

Before he could say anything, Ino put the smaller paper in his free hand.

''But-''

Sakura also wanted to say something, but Ino grabbed her elbow to walk away.

''That's all he has to know, Forehead! Now give the man some peace!''

That's the last thing Sasuke heard because they soon disappeared out of his sight. He glanced at the smaller paper in his hand. There was an address. He didn't even know they moved out of their parents' house. They should have put a phone number on it too. Or they wanted him to come so badly they purposely didn't give him a chance to call and make up a reason for not arriving on time. Or at all.

Not having a better solution, Sasuke folded the bigger paper and, along with the smaller one, put it in his pocket. He actually didn't have plans for tonight since he got back from a mission couple of hours ago and Sakura ran into him after he delivered a report to Hokage.

With both of her sons at home, which was a rare occasion, Mikoto was expectedly preoccupied with laundry and dinner, just like every mother.

''Itachi, would you be so kind and inform your brother about the dinner?''

''Sure.''

Itachi didn't have other responsibilities this evening, so he was chilling in the living room, waiting to have dinner with his family. Climbing the stairs to get to Sasuke's room, he's been trying to remember when was the last time he went out. Like out of the house, to relax, have fun, hang out with other people. Time filled with missions, training, clan's duty was all Itachi could think of.

He envied Sasuke a bit. It was great to hold a title of Uchiha heir, but with that name came many duties that weren't allowing Itachi to be something else than shinobi. He needed a hobby that would make him feel as if he was a normal person, only for a few hours. Sasuke had his best friend who wanted attention and friends, so Sasuke, with Naruto by his side, had some kind of social life. Itachi didn't. Even when he would meet people, all he would talk about were missions and training. Every now and then celebration to congratulate shinobi for accomplishing missions. Or training among the clan members. Spending time at home meant father's questions about missions. And training. Not to mention clan's duty was an every day subject.

It wasn't complicated; he simply wanted a time for himself, when he wouldn't be around people who saw him as Uchiha heir, but a simple man. He was too well-known to make that happened and it was depressing sometimes. He would only greet an acquaintance, while trying to be nice, and the conversation would imminently turn into a training tips.

Giving compliments to a girl was impossible; every single one would spread the word around the village that Uchiha heir has serious intentions and he was getting tired of explaining those misunderstandings to his mother. So he simply stopped interacting with other people more then necessary, being polite and reserved, only then people thought he was conceited and vain. That led to a lonely and uninteresting private life, which was bugging him only on a free night like this one.

Itachi sighed deeply before knocking on Sasuke's door.

''Dinner's ready,'' he said plainly after knocking.

''Come in for a second!'' Sasuke ordered and Itachi entered his room.

''What's new?'' Itachi asked out of courtesy.

''Check this out!'' Sasuke said, taking something out of his backpack. ''We received it as a reward!''

Itachi nodded instead of admiring to a sapphire stone.

''We had to bring back a stolen chest and the rich guy-''

Sasuke was blabbering, but Itachi wasn't listening. He went through dozens of similar missions where the local rich man was harassing everyone, so when the people tried to bring some justice into the world by retrieving their own treasure, the loaded merchant would be the only one who had enough money to hire shinobi to do the dirty work for him.

Those kind of missions were making Itachi sick, the only problem was they were well paid missions which inexperienced shinobi like Sasuke was looking forward to accomplish.

What caught Itachi's eye was a folded paper, left sloppily on Sasuke's bed.

''What is this?'' Itachi asked, picking up the paper.

''Nothing,'' Sasuke replied, uninterested into matter, still mesmerized with a gem stone.

''Can I take a look?''

''Sure,'' Sasuke shrugged, heading to the door. ''What's for dinner?''

During the meal, Sasuke was entertaining their parents by retelling details from his mission while Itachi was impatient to read the paper his brother had let him take. As he could see for a few moments before he had sat down at the table, those were rules for a game of some kind. Itachi also found a smaller paper with an address. The place was located in a new neighbourhood, where many new houses and store-buildings had been built in the last couple of months. Address paired with the rules for a game seemed to Itachi like an interesting way of announcing the opening of a new gaming place, so they probably wanted to attract more customers by giving around simple promotional material. Rules were crucial for playing, same as the address of the gaming place. At the first sight, the game was interesting enough, but not too complicated and, since Itachi wanted a reason to leave the house, he decided to give it a shot. Sasuke obviously didn't need it, putting both papers aside, and Itachi did ask for a permission to take it. Maybe people with the same interest, and that was cards, would forget who Itachi was and for this one time simply play the game without competing, talking about missions or feeling uncomfortable around him for the unknown reason.

After offering their mother his help with washing up, what she declined, Itachi got ready to escape from his everyday life.

He took the rules with him, reading them on his way. The game required at least three players, it included five decks of cards and it was played in four different rounds. For a strategy and different combinations of cards he had to start playing and, since he didn't have five decks at home, he needed to get to this new gaming place.

Itachi was a bit surprised when he got to a three-storey building, which all had an apartment, without any sign of a public place. Then again, maybe it was brand new and Itachi rang the doorbell anyway, on the second floor, since that was written.

''It's opened!'' female voice was heard from the other side of the door.

This was confusing. If this was really an apartment, why would it be opened? Then again, if it was a gaming house, why the door would be closed?

Itachi decided to enter anyway.

''You are a bit early, Sasuke-kun!''

Another female voice revealed the obvious to Itachi. He was at the wrong place and clearly unwanted.


	2. Another player

**_Another player_**

''Mom!'' Sasuke was yelling through the house. ''Where are those pants I wore?''

''They needed washing, so I-''

''Did you find something in the pockets?''

''I don't remember, but even if I did, I put it on your bed.''

''Thanks, mom.''

''No problem, sweetie.''

Sasuke searched the entire bedroom, trying to find the stupid paper Sakura and Ino had given him, but he couldn't. So he headed to their flat without reading the rules for the game. He didn't expect they would play cards anyway, so he informed his parents he would be back soon. He was curious to see their flat, assuming it was probably in a complete mess, knowing well both Ino and Sakura hated house work.

Itachi, standing in the middle of the living room, had a different problem than his brother. Looking around to spot the household, he wanted to apologize for interruption.

''Sit wherever you want, we will be there in a second!'' a cheerful female suggested.

It was obviously a flat for rent; it didn't have a hallway that was leading to every room; the entrance door led to a spacious living room. It had a small table in the middle and cushions for sitting; on the left there was a small sofa with a coffee table and on the right there was a big drawer. The huge room was mostly unfurnished, so the flat was bright and shiny. And sofa was very comfortable for sitting.

Nobody entered the living room to greet Itachi. He didn't know what to do. It was stupid of him to think Sasuke would be interested to take a promotional material to learn a card game. Unlike Itachi, he had friends and, as Itachi could conclude from their happy voices, they were glad Sasuke had come. They probably wanted to try out a new game, giving Sasuke the rules to study them and get ready to play.

They expected only Sasuke and he threw the papers away; he should be honoured he was the only one invited!

''How come you invited me and not somebody else?'' Itachi heard himself asking, trying hard to sound less like him and more like his brother.

''Like who?''

''Hyuuga, maybe,'' that was the only name Itachi could remember from Sasuke's class at the Academy.

''Both Hinata and Neji-san can use their byakugan, so they are not our first choice when it comes to playing cards.''

''Shikamaru is too smart for us and he likes shougi. Chouji always eats and he would get the cards dirty.''

''And Kiba and Akamaru would make our flat dirty!''

''And Lee prefers physical workout rather than sitting still around a table for hours.''

Although Itachi was alone in the room and had no idea who they were talking about, he was nodding as a sign of understanding. Speaking of people he didn't meet, he was talking to strangers, who were still busy with something.

''For how long have you been living here?'' he asked.

''About two weeks.''

''And how did you think of playing cards?''

''Well, we are tired of going out and getting drunk for no reason, and it was raining the other day, so we found the cards.''

''Huh.''

''It's fun and it distracts our thoughts from missions and hospital duty. Too bad we like this game that requires three players.''

''It's so great you came!''

''Yeah.''

''Pig here is afraid of bugs, so Shino is out of the question.''

''Sakura!''

Sakura, that was the name of one of the two girls Itachi's been talking to. He heard of her before tonight. Was she Sasuke's team-mate? Anyway, they continued screaming at each other in the kitchen, and Itachi could hear every word clearly.

''What? You are afraid of everything! Snakes, spiders, even slugs!''

''I am not afraid of toads!''

''Well, Naruto can't follow the rules.''

''I think they are quite complicated.''

''Did you get the picture about the game, Sasuke-kun?''

''No, not really,'' Itachi said. It wasn't a lie; unlike Itachi, Sasuke didn't study the rules.

''Me neither!'' the girl who wasn't Sakura said.

''Well, I did, which means you two are shuffling the cards!''

''You will find all five decks in the first drawer, next to table!''

Itachi stood up to find the cards, not mind shuffling while waiting. Although the place was huge, only two girls were living here. The rent was probably lower for girls than for boys since women tended to make less mess and noise. They were both medics, since their work included hospital duty, and Sasuke wasn't a random choice. Out of all people they talked about, Sasuke seemed like a natural third player. They wanted to play with him because they considered him as a good opponent, smart, patient and a bit competitive. Itachi had that traits also! Would they let him play with them instead of Sasuke if he didn't show up? Or they would scream at him for pretending to be Sasuke? Using a clone was only a temporary solution and it would work for this one night and only if Sasuke wasn't coming.

Now it was too late to reveal himself because Itachi got an assignment and that was to shuffle cards. Opening the first drawer didn't make Itachi occupied with shuffling because he couldn't spot decks of cards. There was a first aid kit, sewing accessories and probably girlie stuff because Itachi didn't see something alike before. He closed the drawer; it was enough he was an intruder and a liar, he shouldn't go through their stuff also.

''Are you sure about the first drawer?'' Itachi asked loud enough.

''Oh no! I forgot! They are in my room, since I wanted to see how the game looks like!''

''Go and get them, then! You can't send Sasuke-kun into your room on the first night, Sakura!''

That was quite allusive, so Itachi concluded Sakura must have a crush on his brother and her friend obviously liked to tease her. Sasuke would run away after hearing the smallest insinuation about his love life because he was refusing to sacrifice his valuable time on something so irrelevant.

Another word got Itachi's attention - first night. How many nights would there be?

''Knock it off, Pig!'' Sakura chuckled and strolled through the living room to get to her bedroom.

Her pink hair waved as she walked and Itachi smirked to that suitable name. Then again, she called her friend 'Pig' more than once. Either they were best friends or that nickname was also suitable. Not paying any attention to Itachi, Sakura put the cards on the table and returned to the kitchen. He assumed Sasuke resembled him enough and Sakura was preoccupied with something else. That way he also got more time to think about what to do when they would find out he was not his brother.

''Oh no! I just remembered!'' Sakura exclaimed and sent shivers down Itachi's spine. ''We didn't ask Tenten!''

''Oh relax! The only type of cards she is interested in is tarot! And she would use it on us to predict when we would get a boyfriend!''

This Tenten person liked fortune telling and both Sakura and her friend were single.

''I don't need a boyfriend now when we are playing cards! I certainly wouldn't invite a guy over and make him play cards with me and my room-mate! It would be tormenting!''

''That depends on how long the game lasts,'' Itachi mumbled to himself, then added much louder. ''I wouldn't know.''

He was slightly uncomfortable when his comment was followed by a quiet laughter. He didn't know to whom he was talking to neither he could guess what was so funny. Maybe Sasuke would understand; Itachi didn't know how close they were. He knew nothing and his idea to leave the house tonight now seemed as the stupidest idea ever! The only one that could compare to it was his decision to pretend he was Sasuke. He couldn't leave without a single word; they would find it rude and get mad at Sasuke, and it wasn't his fault at all.

In the meantime, real Uchiha Sasuke got to the right neighbourhood. He didn't recall the exact number of the building, but he heard Ino and Sakura yelling. Just like he thought; their flat must have been a battlefield. It would be a miracle if he lasted more than five minutes with the two of them in a small room.

He followed that noise and, as he was getting closer, he could hear more clearly. Yes, they were loud, only they weren't fighting. They were laughing, asking questions and replying, as if they were talking to somebody else. Maybe he wasn't the only one they had invited to come tonight. He could find out by ringing the doorbell, and so he did.

Sudden ring made Itachi startle. He completely forgot it was actually Sasuke who was invited and he overlooked the possibility he would come too!

''Who might that be?''

''Can you open, Sasuke-kun?''

Itachi, not having a better idea, opened the door carefully.

''What are you doing here?'' Sasuke hissed when Itachi peeked through the door.

Just when older Uchiha wanted to explain this misunderstanding to his brother, the girls decided to leave the kitchen and meet an unexpected guest.

''Sasuke-kun, why didn't you tell us your brother was coming with you?''

The question came from the blonde girl with a dirty apron atop her clean clothes.

''Itachi-san is here?''

Sakura's terrified voice revealed Sasuke obviously had told his friend a story or two about his brother. A moment after Sakura joined her friend in the living room, smiling like an insane person, probably to hide she didn't like Itachi's presence.

''I can leave,'' Itachi shrugged.

''We didn't mean that!'' the blonde said quickly. ''We invited Sasuke-kun because we needed a third player, and now there is a four of us.''

''It can be played in teams!''

The second he said it out loud, Itachi realised how desperate it sounded.

''Like, in two teams by two?'' Sasuke asked.

''Didn't you read the rules?'' Sakura asked Sasuke.

''I couldn't. Itachi took them.''

''I asked you first. And they were on your bed.''

''Mom took them out of my pockets before washing my clothes!''

''Mom does your laundry!'' the blonde mocked.

''Speaking of dirty,'' Sakura pointed at blonde's apron.

She shrugged instead of apologizing for showing up indecent in front of guests. Now Itachi understood what took them so long in the kitchen; a dish must have boiled over or spilt, so they had to clean it up before it dried.

''You actually cooked?'' Sasuke asked when the blonde girl left to change.

''We are not living with parents like you,'' Sakura mocked.

''No need to brag about our burned dinner, Sakura,'' the blonde yelled from her room, making the brothers laugh and Sakura blush.

''It will be better next time,'' Sakura said quietly. ''We only need to practice more.''

''Exactly!'' the blonde exclaimed, now without an apron. ''Just like with playing cards!''

''So we are playing?'' Sasuke asked.

''We can't until you introduce us to your brother,'' the blonde said.

Itachi totally forgot he didn't greet the girls. They didn't even meet properly and he was rude already.

''Right,'' Sasuke rolled his eyes. ''So, Sakura, this is my brother. Itachi, this is Haruno Sakura, my former team-mate.''

They bowed to each other out of courtesy.

''And Ino,'' Sasuke sighed, ''meet my older brother. Itachi, this is Yamanaka Ino, Sakura's room-mate.''

The blonde bowed briefly and Itachi couldn't find a resemblance to a pig, like Sakura addressed her friend before. And he should have known Ino belonged to Yamanaka clan, wearing her blonde hair in a pony tail, just like her father, a respectable member of Konoha's interrogation unit.

''So,'' Sakura took the cards to shuffle it some more, ''Itachi-san and I can't play together because I also know the rules.''

''Hey! That's not fair!'' Ino protested. ''Why do you get to decide?''

''It's pointless to play in teams if one team doesn't know how to play,'' Itachi explained.

That and Sakura had a crush on Sasuke and wasn't thrilled when she found out Itachi was also here. Ino seemed neutral until now.

''Fine,'' she said simply.

''So Sasuke-kun, I guess you are stuck with me!'' Sakura chuckled.

''As long as we beat Itachi.''

Sasuke was eager to start, so he was the first one who sat down at the table.


	3. No chance

_**No chance**_

What was supposed to be a quiet and pleasant evening with two girls, turned into a quarrel as soon as the boys entered their house.

''You went there just to show off!''

''I wasn't showing off!''

''Yes, you were! Everything you did made me look bad, and you seemed perfect, like you really are! Perfect Uchiha prodigy!''

''Sasuke, you don't understand! I told you how I ended up there!''

''Spare me your lame excuses! You were enjoying every second while being so smart and important!''

''I didn't, I-''

''No wonder you don't have any friends!''

Itachi let Sasuke slam the door of his room, because older Uchiha didn't have anything to say to that. Sasuke was one of the few who patiently handled his difficult personality and tonight that patience disappeared. Instead of knocking and saying sorry for the millionth time, Itachi went to his room.

Sasuke wouldn't forget so easily that Itachi got involved into his personal life. Ino and Sakura were Sasuke's friends and it must have been tormenting for Sasuke to pretend he was perfectly fine with his brother bothering him and his friends. Itachi should have left as soon as Sasuke arrived and nothing would have happened.

Sasuke was also thinking about tonight's events.

He maybe was too dramatic about something as simple as seats. It was logical Itachi would be sitting between Sasuke and Sakura, and opposite of Ino. Even the blonde understood it right away and explained it to Sasuke, who was irritated by Itachi's closeness. And especially about his enthusiasm about playing along with Ino!

The huge table was between them and yet they succeeded to win! And Itachi's outrageous idea to play with the cards faced up for awhile! Like Sasuke would show his cards to Itachi and make it even easier for him to win! Just because he wasn't gloating about the victory it wasn't making him less annoying!

And Ino! Why was she so nice, constantly offering cookies and lemonade? Not to mention Sakura couldn't stop asking advice from Itachi! As if she was stupid, and Sasuke knew she wasn't and she could have decided about her move by herself!

Maybe Itachi was telling her nonsense and she listened to him what led to their worse score! And only Itachi could have liked the card game where it was relevant if the cards were clean or dirty. Who on earth invented a stupid game like that? Probably a so-called genius so other geniuses like Itachi could win against regular people. Yes, Itachi explained on their way home he ended up at Ino and Sakura's flat thinking there was a new gaming house, but come on, who would have thought that? Itachi also denied meeting Ino or Sakura before tonight, and it didn't make any sense to angry Sasuke.

He could overlook the fact Itachi took the rules to study them, that he wanted to stay and play cards with two unknown girls and that he won in the end; the last drop was something else. And Ino and Sakura agreed with his brother!

Unbelievable.

Itachi offered to start over, to ignore tonight's game, to pretend it never took place and repeat the first round next time. And he was actually surprised when Sasuke refused!

He wasn't stupid, he would figure out the strategy for the next round, he didn't need anyone's help, especially not Itachi's! The worst part was Itachi didn't understand why Sasuke insisted for this round to count too. It wasn't about the score, it was about pride. If Itachi could win, along with Ino who didn't know how to play, then Sasuke could do it too, even if that meant he would have to ask Sakura to explain the difference between clean and dirty cards one more time.

Why did he leave the house anyway? He just got home from a mission; even their demanding father should have understood Sasuke's need for resting. Only he didn't, pointing out how Itachi was better, stronger, smarter; he was a damn perfection and Sasuke would never be good enough to get close to Itachi's shadow, he could only dream of getting to his brother's real potential.

Exhausted, angry and mentally devastated, Sasuke fell asleep.

In a room next door, Itachi couldn't drift off. He couldn't forget Sasuke's angry face after seeing his brother in his friends' flat, after Itachi's winning, after suggestion to treat this round as a test for the game, only because half of players weren't familiar with the rules.

Itachi wondered what he did wrong. He apologized for spoiling the night with Sasuke's friends as soon as they were left alone, and Sasuke assured him it didn't matter. Itachi couldn't be too polite to friendly Ino, who was dedicated to be a good host, or too helpful to curious Sakura, who was eager to learn to play by asking for his opinion.

What he should have done? Ignored them while they were nice and kind?

Itachi met too many imposters and he knew neither Sakura nor Ino were ones; their laughter was honest, they were glad to finally try out the game with enough players, being endearing while making insecure moves, and overall having a good time. Their invitation for a dinner before next round was the ultimate proof they wanted to hang out more. Maybe it was all because Sakura saw Sasuke as more than a friend; her thrill about being his playmate was obvious, but it didn't matter. They were certainly looking forward to the next appointment, questioning Sasuke about his missions and training.

Sasuke didn't even know how lucky he was, for having such wonderful friends. Then again, it wasn't fair from Itachi to interfere and if Sasuke wasn't glad to play the game with him, Itachi would respect that. And eventually find someone else to spend his free evenings with. Maybe he really didn't have friends because he was too arrogant. Maybe he spent too much time with people who expected him to act that way, so he lost the touch to have a simple conversation with regular people.

Itachi was always thinking too much, this night wasn't an exception, so he spent it tossing and turning all over his bed.

And on the other side of the village, two kunoichi were still busy with their kitchen, cleaning the rest of the dinner which was still on the floor, on the wall and all over the oven.

''Poor Sasuke-kun!'' Ino sighed sadly, while scrubbing the floor. ''He was tired from the mission, you should have given him more rest, Sakura.''

''He really couldn't concentrate,'' Sakura agreed, dedicated to the brown wall at the moment.

''Next time we should be more considerate about the timing.''

Sakura nodded to Ino's suggestion.

''And I must say I didn't picture Itachi-san the way he was!'' Sakura said. ''He was so well-mannered! And friendly!''

''Well of course he is!'' Ino rolled her eyes. ''We heard he was rude and always in a rush, and that's normal if people bug him when he is busy! Tonight he wasn't and we had a good time!''

''He is so smart and understanding,'' Sakura continued her praising. ''He totally helped me solve my dilemma about the joker cards!''

Ino chuckled to that.

''I think he is kind of cute.''

''Ino!'' Sakura hissed.

''What?'' Ino now laughed. ''He is good-looking, you can't deny it!''

''I didn't say that,'' Sakura muttered. ''It's just-''

''Yeah, yeah, he is older and mature. But I can't help it, I have eyes!''

''And your hands too,'' Sakura said pointedly.

''What is that supposed to mean?'' Ino stopped scrubbing, placing her fists on her hips.

''What was that cheap trick, I can't hold cards, can you arrange them for me?''

Sakura was laughing while impersonating her best friend.

''That wasn't flirting, I really couldn't hold cards!'' Ino protested. ''And I have no idea how I am going to hold even more of them in the next round!''

''Oh no, they will all fall out of your dainty hands!'' Sakura mocked.

''Just because Itachi-san noticed my hands are delicate, it doesn't mean anything! And what right do you have to make fun of me? You invited them over for a dinner! A dinner!''

''They would have come for the second round anyway!'' Sakura defended herself.

''Yeah, only now you will have the chance to prove to Sasuke-kun you can actually cook!''

''So what? I can!''

''You can make one single dish that is edible! That doesn't make you a cook!''

''You can make none!''

''Yeah, only I didn't invite my crush to impress him with my skills I don't have!''

''I know to cook! It will turn out fine! I will succeed!''

''You will, Sakura. And I will help you as much as I can. Now stop yelling or the neighbours will complain again.''

Sakura was quiet for a few moments, then she whispered her honest thanks.

''No problem. And then you can teach me how to play in return?''

''No way! You are on your own!''

''It will be more fair that way!''

''You have the rules right here! Or you can ask Itachi-san for private lessons!''

''You are being childish, Sakura. I can say he is cute without you making a big deal out of it.''

Friendly teasing and heartily laughs made the cleaning more fun and as soon as they were done, they flaked out in their rooms.

The next morning, Sasuke ran into Itachi while he was on his way out, having a full gear on, including armour.

''Where are you going?'' Sasuke asked immediately, not recalling Itachi had mentioned mission that difficult.

''I won't be around for a week or two,'' Itachi responded plainly.

''Something dangerous?''

''Not really. Only long-lasting.''

''Good.''

''Yeah.''

Neither of them moved, they only stared at the floor. Sasuke knew he should apologize for last night; he was grumpy because he was tired and it wasn't Itachi's fault. It never was, and somehow Sasuke always blamed him.

''About that dinner,'' Itachi spoke and Sasuke startled a bit, ''I say you go without me. With my schedule and other stuff, I think it would be-''

''No way!'' Sasuke interrupted. ''I am not eating Sakura's cuisine by myself! You will be the first one trying that poison!''

Unexpectedly, Itachi chuckled, but scolded his brother anyway.

''You should be nice to Sakura-san. She means well.''

''I know,'' Sasuke agreed.

''Anyway, I am leaving.''

''You better come back safe! I have to beat you in the next round!''

''Like I will let you!'' Itachi smirked.

Sasuke frowned, but he wasn't angry. More than losing to Itachi he would hate Itachi letting him win. And he was a good opponent. And that week or two Sasuke will definitely use to learn to play better and last night's disaster will become distant past.


End file.
